Baby Girl
by TheLordsArchDevil
Summary: Hi guys, long time no change of summary. In the earlier poll it was a 6-2 vote for Jetko and I really foresee that happening. Anyways as usual slash, mpreg, abuse, you have been warned! But still ENJOY! I'll try be more consistent with uploading new chapters but if you have any suggestions don't be shy tell me.
1. Chapter 1

Baby Girl

DISCLAIMER (I forgot this tthe first time round) **I ****DO NOT! OWN AVATAR. **Cause if I did I'd be rich, but I'm as broke as they come. Though I do have the luck of the devil... ;-)

Prolouge

Zuko was seated staring at the black board as teacher after teacher came droned and left.

This was Nation High one of the most prestigious high schools in the country 80% of all students ended up in Ivy League schools, and of those 80% 97.5% ended up as multi millionaires if not multi billionaires.

The same was expected of Zuko as he was son to multi billionaire Ozai Fiire owner of the multi functional Fiire industries. They did everything from technology to entertainment even simple mundane day to day items- nothing was out of their reach and behind this large powerful empire lay one man- Ozai Fiire.

If you saw Ozai in the tabloids you would see a successful family man with a happy and beautiful wife, a beautiful and smart daughter who was the envy of all her peers and the handsome but very aloof son who was the star to take over the multibillion dollar company.

No one really saw what went on behind the scenes.

Ever since the death of Ozai's father Azulon he had been a changed man. He had secretly filed for divorce from his wife and had quietly forced her to leave.

Even since his moms sudden and secret departure Zuko had become withdrawn angry at the world, at his father but mostly at his weakness. He could have left is home to go look for his mother but he was still in love with the money and the luxury.

And it wasn't only Zuko who had changed. Ozai had become angrier and angrier ever since the death of his father and the departure of his wife, and his failure of a son had become the outlet for his anger.

It had begun with simple verbal abuse

"Fat" this simple word had forced him to strive for physical perfection, so he had stopped eating. He had became anorexic in hopes that his father would notice and stop the demeaning name calling. But instead of stopping it had only changed.

"Stupid" his father had told him when he had gotten an A. "Why can't you get an A*like your sister". So Zuko began doing extra tuition. He spent 2-4 hours a day revising without fail. A single A on his test signified failure. Coming less than first place signified failure. Being anything less than the best academically signified failure. He wasn't going to be anything less than academically excellent.

"Lazy" his father had called him. "Your sister takes tennis, soccer, basketball, hockey, is captain of the swim team, head of the debate club, does gymnastics and is the star candidate for going to the junior Olympics next year and all you can do is try not to fail- PATHETIC." Those scathing words drove Zuko to push himself further than his already weak body could allow. He started doing football, soccer, hockey, basketball, athletics, swimming and joined the community service group (that way he wasn't under Azula's thumb). But his dad didn't notice all he could say was "try your hardest not to embarrass me" before all his games, matches and tournaments, unaware to how weak his sons body was.

Then one night Ozai came home drunk from a staff party (and his own private party with his hot secretary) and found Zuko awake and in his room doing his daily revision.

Ozai glared at his son. "Still awake. You idiot! If you had any ounce of natural intelligence I wouldn't have to spend thousands of dollars a year to keep you from failing!"

Zuko winced. His father's insults should have just bounced off him- after all he was insulted by his father at least ten times a day- but they didn't, they hurt.

Ozai started circling around his son. Slowly. Like a vulture seizing up some potential prey. He calmly stroked his beard. "Perhaps I should find a way of making young work hard." He said with a small smile.

Zuko was frightened. His father never smiled at him but here he was grinning. He became worried.

"What do you mean fat-." Zuko asked quietly. But before he could finish one word he was dragged out of his child. His face met the floor with a resounding smack.

His father hissed "You know exactly what I mean."

With that he dragged his confused, hurt son down the stairs into a cellar Zuko didn't know existed. It looked like something out of a medieval torture dungeon.

Ozai dragged his son up some steps which Zuko realised was an altar. He chained his son to the cold stone pillar in the centre of the altar his back facing his father. He picked up a knife and ripped open the back of his sons shirt. He then picked up a whip.

"It's time you learnt respect son." And before Zuko knew it he was in excruciating pain. The pain came in one fast move and ripped a line of flesh off his back. He scram into the empty space.

"You WEAK, PATHETIC boy. Tainting the blood offering by screaming? You're a DISGRACE. I FEEL ASHEAMED TO CALL YOU MY SON. I CANT BELIEVE I SIRED YOU!" He yelled at his sons back with each word landing the whip on his sons writhing, hurting, bleeding body.

Before Zuko knew what happened he yelled out "I'M SORRY."

Ozai laughed cruelly before landing the whip again, and again, and again. Ten lashes later Zuko was close to being unconscious when his father stopped.

"That's your punishment." Ozai said before turning to leave. "If you ever embarrass me again, then you will be punished in the same way." Ozai laughed before he left the cellar, turning of the lights and leaving his son in the darkness, cold, alone and in a excruciating pain.

Zuko's last thought before he passed out was "I'm so sorry father."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

Alone

"…The rest of heaven was blue of a demon in my view."

Zuko had begun to live a form of half life, too afraid to actually live. While most of his "friends were experimenting with sex and drugs he studied, participated in sports and was the poster child for "perfect" children. However, at home all he acquired were severe beatings.

But no one knew. No one noticed.

A baggy hoodie and no one could see how skinny he actually was.

The right amount of makeup and no one saw the hit bruises and cuts on his face, hands, feet….

Because of the beatings he was forced to give up swim team. He instead joined the chess team. The chess team was one of the most prestigious (and geeky) clubs in the school. It was also the most liked team in the school because of the fun and eccentric chess coach Iroh. Everybody in the school loved him.

"Good move, Zuko. It seems you're getting better at the game." Iroh said, while stroking his beard and nodding sagely.

"Yeah. No thanks to you. I had to take private coaching sessions" Zuko said angrily to Iroh. Everyone, but Zuko.

Instead of bristling and tatling on him to his father, like most teachers would have, Iroh instead laughed loudly and said," I am sorry if I am neglecting you're training. Most of the students who join the speed chess team are already well equipped to survive the stress and speed of speed chess."

Zuko glared at his rook when this was said.

"But because you showed a small talent for the game I let you join the team." Iroh carried on.

Zuko still silently glared at his rook. His stomatch was twisting in knots at the humiliation of being told that his talent was only small.

"So you want me to leave?" Zuko asked softly and sadly- not because of the actual team, but because he had failed his father yet again. He was a failure as a son, as a man. And of course the possibility of an ice lashing for failing was yet another thing that would make him afraid. He shuddered as he remembered his last ice lashing. It had been three months and the wounds had yet to fully heal. Also he had nearly died, but his father refused to request any medical help so had been called in "sick" for those 3 days of healing. The wounds had required more time to heal but he couldn't fall behind in school so he forced him self out of bed and to school.

While these thoughts were going on in his head Zuko had begun to subconciously rub at some of the remaining wounds and scars on his back with his hands.

Iroh looked at Zuko." No, No quite the contrary actually- I'd like you to join the team full time. Our next match is on Wednesday against Rose Thorn High." He beamed at Zuko.

Zuko looked at him and nodded but in his mind he was smiling.

"Also I'd like you to join me and some of the team members this evening for a pot of tea and a sporting game of pai sho." Iroh continued on jovially.

"I'm sorry but I can't attend that. I had a prior engagement." Zuko responded automatically. He hated socializing because given the right amount of heat and pressure he was sure something might slip out, and the last thing he wanted to do was snitch on his father and be taken away by social security whilst his father faced the possibility of jail.

"Oh come on Zuko you need to get to know your team mates better and also to learn another board game, and what better game than pai sho." Iroh pleaded.

"No! Zuko" exclaimed

Iroh sighed and shook his head. "Then I'm afraid that I am going to have to tell your parents that you are refusing to participate in team activities."

Zuko glared at Iroh. "Chess is not a team game. Its an individual sport like swimming or singles tennis and badminton."

"Ah" Iroh said sagely "But at the end of each match the scores of each individual are rounded up and are added together to make a winning team. So in the end it is a team game."

Zuko sighed and stood up. "Where do you live?"

Iroh beamed and handed him a piece of paper with the address 32 BA Sing S.E side.

"BA?" Zuko questioned.

"Yes" Iroh said"Our estate is known as the sing estate and most of the houses are labled in inverse. Instead of AB it is BA."

"S.E?" Zuko asked.

"Yes " Iroh said with a smile." The South East side of the Sing Estate-house BA. Most of the houses here are also BA. Though that might be because most of the residents have B A's or higher most have Ph.D's"

"Really" asked Zuko with feigned intrest.

"Yes" Said Iroh with a lot of enthusiasim. "I my self have two Ph.D's in both Philosophy and Actuarial science- both from Cambridge." Iroh added with pride.

Zuko sighed in his mind but his face was painted with cold indifference.

"So see you at 7." Iroh said with a smile before walking away silently

Zuko sighed softly before mumbling a loud "yeah, if my father doesn't get to see my newest set of bad results."

That evening at 4:30 Ozai returned home and saw Zukos test results set on his desk in his study.

"Zuko has done exceptionally well this term coming first place in …."

Ozai read the remaining results evaluation and the test results before getting up and leaving his study.

He entered Zukos room and found him coming out of the shower. No steam followed him meaning that he had had a cold shower.

"So who is the prude?" Ozai asked conversationally.

Zuko looked at his father confused.

Ozai continued "Everyone knows that cold showers are good for keeping teenage boy hormones in check"

Zuko finally realized what his father meant and begun to stammer " N..No one father."

"Is that so" Ozai carried on with a smile on his face.

"Yes" Said Zuko aware know that his father was seething for some reason- probably his test results. This would definitely not end well. His face unbeknownst to him had paled for its original beige shade to a snowy white.

Ozai was instantly enraged. "Then explain to me how you got 95% in political sciene. You were second in your class by 3%!" Ozai hissed out furiously.

"I'm sorry." Zuko managed to stammer out. " I was feeling unwell, and I was feverish and I couldn't think so I-"

"You couldn't think or you don't think at all!" Ozai yelled out.

Zuko flinched and looked down. "I'm sorry." he said silently.

"No" Ozai said nastily "You're not sorry yet but you soon will be"

Zuko closed his eyes and just hoped that whatever the punishment was it wouldn't keep him from attending the meeting, because he knew that if he didn't attend Iroh would call Ozai concerned and his father would punish him again tomorrow.

"Zuko" His father whispered softly "You're not listening to me" and with that Ozai grabbed Zuko and threw him to the floor pummeling him in his face, stomatch- any part of Zukos body.

Zuko was silent because he knew if he made a sound his father would take it as weakness and punish him harder for it.

Ozai stood up and repeatedly kicked his sons legs and stomach. Then in a moment of spite he kick his balls and Zuko curled inwards. This gave Ozai even more reason to hate his son and with a renewed vigour viscously took his sons hockey stick and hit him with it 10 times before me stopped, looked at his only son spitefully and walked away, leaving Zuko brusied battered and semi conscious on the floor tears slowly leaking out of his shut perfectly shaped eyes.

Zuko whispered to the floor and his fathers retreating footsteps "I'm so sorry father."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

There was a time that Zuko would have been able to make friends, but as time wore on he retreated into himself. No one could be trusted. No one could ne told the truth.

He was sitting in his room.

He was sitting in front of a disappointed Iroh.

He was writing an essay on the history of the cold war.

He was looking appropriately contrite.

Iroh looked at Zuko. He had never seen someone so driven to succeed. And that begged questions, like the reason why. He was already a shoo-in for any Ivy League college. He was the valediction student of his year- yet it was like he was consumed with a fear and self loathing. He was obviously suicidal.

Zhao looked at the mansion around him. His boss lived in the lap of luxury. He walked down corridors with valuable art hanging on the wall and beautifully carpeted floors. Up stairs until he reached his bosses study. After a quick meeting he left the study and on his way down he passed some rooms. He entered on and found Zuko sitting on his bed. He was writing some essay, or something. He looked so young, so innocent- so clean. He had to be the one to soil him.

Zuko looked up at Zhao. "What do you want Zhao?" Zuko glared at the man in front of him. Zhao smirked. He would put an end to that air of arrogance around Zuko. He would make him feel worthless soon. He locked the door behind him and begun to take of his trousers.

He walked out of the party and towards the road. It was like there was something calling him there.

Zuko panicked and he tried to get away from Zhao, but Zhao had the keys in his hands.

He stood on the side walk and waited until he saw a car going fast enough.

What happened in the next hour was a memory Zuko wanted to wash away, fade, die- anything but exist.

The lights of the approaching vehicle was like the lights of heaven for him

Zhao had not prepared him, nor use any lubrication. It had hurt physically, but emotionally it was the last straw. Zhao had pounded into him and ripped him up from the inside out. He bled, scram, tried everything but Zhao was larger stronger and more sadistic than him. Every scream aroused him. Every time he pounded into Zuko drawing more blood Zuko could hear him moaning out his ecstasy. After an hour Zhao stood up, dusted himself off and left the room. He didn't even try to clean up Zuko or cover him up. He just left him there to lie in his own blood.

And Zhao rapped him week after week, and he got weaker, and weaker. Zuko had already been a shell, now he was a wraith. He was barely there and that affected his grades, and his father became more and more violent. Beatings became whippings- and these were whips with 3 or more tails attached to them. There were shards of glass on the tails and they ripped the flesh of his back. Whippings became burnings, boiling and freezing's. He was whipped then boiling water thrown on the wounds- beaten then the wound attacked with an open flame. Then he was left to recover in a freezer.

He used to scream but now the pain had all merged to create one large pain and he no longer had the energy to scream, the strength to draw a sufficient amount of air into his lungs. He had nothing left in him- no pride, no honour- nothing. Rape, beating… Rape, beating…. Rape, beating….Over and over until his original illnesses became a background to the main problem.

Zuko had just wanted to die. Who would care- his mother who had abandoned him, the sister who wanted his inheritance and would be a sure fire to get it once he died. His father hated him and most likely wished that he could kill him and only hadn't because it would beg too many questions. The only person that might miss him was the man who had been raping him for the last 5 months and he would find somebody new to torment in a week max.

Zuko stood in front of the vehicle. Iroh had seen him do this and had grabbed him before the car had reached him. After some time with an angry fitful Zuko yelling at him, hitting him Iroh offered to be his counsellor. Iroh saw that Zuko was extremely troubled and that he needed more than counselling however, he also knew that Zuko would not talk to anyone so it had to be him. Something was troubling him and it needed to be sorted out.

Ozai had found a doctor that would keep Zuko alive, but also keep the abuse a secret. Zuko was sitting on an examination table at the local clinic where this doctor was supposed to see him. He had been feeling more sick than normal recently and he had a serious stomach cramp. Blood tests urine test and a week later he was back on that table ready to hear the results. The doctor sighed when he looked at his file before looking at him.

"What!" Zuko exploded angrily "Just tell me what the problem is!"

The doctor sighed again before saying softly. "You are pregnant."

Zuko was stunned into a cold silence. The doctor left him alone to think and the next thing he did was cry.

The doctor had told Ozai that his son was pregnant.

His father called him a whore. Told him to be gone before nightfall. He had said nothing, he just packed and left. He didn't even respond to Azula's taunting calls and laughs.

He had left with nowhere to go so he just lived on a park bench for 2 nights until the cops had caught him.

You would think that the face of the multibillionaire's son would be recognisable and on every ones number one on the list for take for ransom, but his father had left him with a cruel parting gift.

The left side of his face had been melted off and the skin around the eye was hairless and multi hued. He would never see out of that eye clearly again.

The only thought going through his head throughout the entire ordeal was "I'm sorry father."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So I am updating a bit faster than normal (more than once every 3- 6 months) to make up for lost time- also known as me being too lazy to type 900- 1000 words per chapter. But since my current employment is not too time consuming and I have yet to discover my social skills I officially have a lot of free time. Here is Chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Zuko woke up to the sound of children yelling and remembered that he was living in a foster home with 13 other children. He was awake but he did not want to open his eyes. One because his head hurt an opening his eyes to fast would hurt. And two because one eye could not open. The eye had been burnt recently and apart for some clean water and a layer of Vaseline it had not received any treatment. It was swollen shut and the raw skin was beginning to heal closed together. After a while he heard his bedroom door open and thought that it was some of the other inhabitants of this room entering. He rolled over and dug into the threadbare blankets some more.

"Thank you for leading me here." An old and sage voice said.

Zuko remained still and hoped that the old man would leave him to die alone. However when the door shut he could still hear the other mans breathing. Soon the other man began to move towards him.

"Hello Zuko." The old voice said in a slow and rather sad tone.

Zuko made no move to respond. A hand was placed on his shoulder. He shifted away from it.

The man sighed before telling him. "You have been adopted, you will be leaving here soon."

Zuko said nothing. Instead he focused on keeping his breathing even, as if he was asleep.

The old man sighed again before moving towards the door.

"Why" Zuko had asked at the last possible moment.

"Why, what Zuko?" The old man asked.

"Why do you care?" The old man paused before answering "I made a promise a long time ago and I do not plan on breaking it." He made a move to close the door and leave Zuko alone when-

"Professor Iroh" Zuko whispered "Who adopted me?"

"I did" And with that he left the troubled boy alone.

In a few minutes a small boy entered the room after he had heard that Zuko was going to be adopted after only being there for 4 days. He was sulking- he had been there for 5 years and yet no one had adopted him, so he asked "Why would anyone adopt you? You're ugly- scarred."

Zuko became stiff as he thought through what Iroh had told him. "Because he promised someone."

Iroh looked at Zuko. He had come to live with him easily enough; however, there were still some issues to sort out. Zuko had yet to speak, eat, and even move. Ever since he had sat in his former teacher's house he had not moved, just sat and stared at a wall.

Iroh did not to push him. According to the police he had been found beaten and living on a park bench. That ordeal might have traumatised him, and Iroh knew that he would need some time to recover from that. Iroh placed some tea in front of Zuko. He watched the boy. Zuko was looking at the steam with the burnt eye under an eye patch finally having received some treatment. Zuko then slowly reached for the cup, picked it up with a slow deliberation. Then he poured the liquid over the table and watched the pattern the tea made over the mahogany table. He went back to staring at the wall.

Iroh followed his gaze and saw the pictures he had up of his only son. Photos of him throughout his childhood from babyhood to his teen years and finally the photo taken of him the day before his death. He had made peace with Lu Tens death yet it was still hard for him to look at that picture. The eyes so full of life and promise- so full of joy which was all he as a father had wanted for his son.

Iroh cleared his throat "That is my deceased son" His voice had cracked over the last two words. "After my wife died he was the only thing I had that kept me going."

Zuko looked like he was in a trance. Iroh was about to leave when Zuko spoke again. "How long has he been dead?"

Iroh closed his eyes but then he spoke softly "5 years."

"Did you …love him" Zuko whispered.

"Of course!" Iroh exploded.

Zuko looked at him for the first time since his last counselling session at school. Then he rose from the chair slowly and went to his new bedroom.

Iroh looked at the spreading tea spill. He got up to clear up the mess.

He looked at the photos before sighing and smiling, "That went well."

Zuko lay on his bed and touched his stomach. He couldn't feel anything yet- but he knew that he would feel something sooner or later and he was worried.

"Maybe I could just abort you." He said to his invisible child- and just like that he realised that he couldn't, he was already attached.

"You may be Zhao's baby, but you are also my baby." He rolled over in his bed and tucked his knees towards his chin.

He touched the eye patch. His eye was healing slowly but surely. He had thought that his eye would have been damaged but he could still see out of his left (scarred) eye. It had hurt when he had gone into the hospital after leaving the foster home. The doctors had put some paste on the eye and had gently pried the eye open to keep it from closing forever and also to assess the damage. The doctor had told him that he would recover his sight and that the wound would occasionally hurt but the scar would never fade.

He closed his unscarred right eye. He could not mourn an eye- this was just proof of what he was inside- ugly, useless, pathetic.

He lay there for some time thinking about this before he drifted off to sleep.

Iroh came up the stairs and opened the door to reveal a sleeping Zuko. He very carefully lifted the boy up and put him under the duvet.

"Sleep well Zuko." Iroh whispered before leaving the boy alone to sleep and dream.

A/N that was a shorter chapter- but only by approximately 100 words. Hope you enjoyed. If you had any issues please don't be shy- review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

Here's chapter four. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to Guest, Hotaru Jaegerjaquez , BeeBee Forthwright , jonasgurl19 (who reviewed every chapter in one day), appleseeds, who reviewed chapter 3 and made me beat my laziness-ness (yeah! I used 2 nesses- that's how lazy I am) and writers block and write this chapter. I am currently going through a koy fixation and just had assessments so this fic became a back burner until I read the reviews and was inspired and reinvigorated. Whew! LOOOOOOOONG A/N. "Onwards people!"

Zuko was lying on a grassy plain. The grass tickled, yet smelled so good that it made him feel refreshed. The place was strange. He could breath, and was on grass yet there were sea horses and jelly fish above and around him. The most interesting though was the giant fish floating above him. He looked at it. It was easily the size of a whale yet it was green, purple and yellow with hints of gold and silver. The more he looked at it the more it became cold and dark. The fish had begun to swim around, slowly draining the life in the area. The sea horses dissolved into the fish, the jellyfish were sucked into his mouth, the grass became dirt, and a desert was slowly surrounding him. Yet the fish kept on absorbing the last remaining life in the desert. Then fish begun to shrivel up, as there was nothing left to absorb. Zuko wondered why the fish had yet to eat him before he realised that he had become a wraith. The fish turned to look at him. It's large golden glassy eyes were the last thing left when the rest of the body was gone- before they too disappeared into the dirt of the desert.

Then two people rose from the dirt of the desert. The first person was his father. He was glaring at him. "Pathetic, Useless, WHORE!" And with each word he became angrier and angrier. And the anger had begun to drain Zuko's energy. He could barely breathe when the second person also begun to speak. "Dirty, Mine, Forever Mine." He collapsed. But the sand and dirt were in his mouth, and the words were still whispered into his mind as he drown in the sand.

"Pathetic, useless, whore." Zuko whispered into space when he woke up. He looked around and found some clothes laid out next to his new dresser. He could hear Iroh walking around down stairs, and he could smell breakfast. His stomach turned, and he nearly threw up. He hated the smell of animal fat. He got changed slowly. As he changed the clothes felt like they had been used before, yet they were perfectly clean. "His son's" Zuko thought. Suddenly he was repulsed and begun to strip them of with haste getting back into some of his old (and dirty) clothes.

He heard Iroh coming up the stairs and entered the bathroom.

Iroh heard the bathroom door click. "Zuko its time for breakfast."

"I'M NOT YOUR SON" Zuko yelled through the door.

Iroh looked at the clothes in a pile on the floor.

"I never said you were." Iroh told Zuko, his voice soft and sad. Then very gently "come down stairs and have breakfast, then we'll go shopping."

Zuko heard the door click shut before he left the bathroom.

The clothes were gone.

He hated Iroh from the bottom of his heart.

When Iroh came up to check on Zuko, Zuko was back under the sheets.

"Zuko. I thought that you were getting up for breakfast" Iroh said softly.

"I don't want to eat," Zuko responded softly

"Zuko!" He exclaimed "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO FEEL ANY SELF PITY!"

Zuko turned and glared at Iroh. "What do you know about me- YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I WENT THROUGH!"

"I know that you are better off than most people!" Iroh threw back at him.

"What? Because I am Ozai Fiires son? Heir to a billion dollar empire? Is that it!"

"No" said Iroh softly "Because…." Then he looked at Zuko's angry face.

"If you can't see it then there is no point" Iroh said before he sighed. He turned to leave, then he stopped. "Come and have breakfast- and this is not a request, nor is it debatable." He left closing the door behind him leaving Zuko in a contemplative state.

Zuko sat down and sighed. He wanted to cry, scream, vent anything to relive the tension, but then he heard-

"Too emotional, my dear Zuzu- It's why you're terrible at everything." Azula's voice whispered into his head.

Looking at the door he thought about leaving. Iroh was right he still was very able bodied and he could still see he could make it on his own. He could get a job, get a small apartment and raise his child on his own.

"Zuko, breakfast," Iroh yelled up the stairs.

Zuko looked around the room. He packed his few belongings and went down the stairs to have breakfast.

There were eggs, bacon, sausages and cereal. "I am Vegan" He said- his first lie.

Iroh looked at him. "You're lying."

Zuko looked at him in shock. Then he looked away from Iroh sulkily.

Iroh burst out laughing. "I know that you have some eating disorders- but in this house you will eat three healthy meals a day."

"I don't want to!" Zuko exclaimed. But as he said those words something inside of him shifted. The food was nauseating him. He wanted to eat something, but not everything on his plate. He sat down and begun to sniff at his food to find out what exactly he wanted.

Cereal- a tentative sniff and a stomatch growl later told him no.

Eggs- Close but not quite.

Sausages and Bacon- YES. He dug in with reckless abandon. He had inhaled the food in less than a minute.

"Interesting- that was all poultry, so you aren't adverse to white meat?"Iroh questioned- then he noticed that Zuko was going to throw up. He helped Zuko to the sink where everything he had eaten came out of him.

"I had forgotten that you hadn't eaten in a day under my roof, and probably longer before." Iroh said whilst rubbing soothing circles into the small Zuko's back. Zuko flinched away from the touch.

"DO NOT TOUCH ME!"

Iroh stepped back cautiously eying Zuko.

"Zuko…." Iroh spoke softly.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME." Zuko screamed.

_Zhao had come inside of Zuko and was now gently rubbing his back, as if that would sooth the pain and humiliation away. "See, was that so bad?" Zhao breathed into the shell of Zuko's ear, as he pulled out. "You disgust me, you're a vile, perverted-" He was cut short by a hot slap. _

"_Shut up!" Zhao yelled into his ears. "I may be vile and perverted, but I still get to fuck you're tight ass. Or do you want daddy to know about the tape- he can see your face. He can't see mine. And from that angle it looks like you were enjoying yourself."_

"_I hate you." Zuko whispered hoarsely._

"_That makes cumming in you all the sweeter, ZUZU." Zhao whispered as he stood up pulled on his pants, before rubbing his back again and unlocking the door and leaving._

Zuko backed away from Iroh before running for his bags and running out the door,

Iroh had been dumb struck by Zuko's reaction and was starting to catch up with what was happening.

"Zuko wait" Iroh yelled at the door before running to catch up with the angsty teen.

Zuko heard Iroh's yell but he didn't stop, he couldn't stop. All he could do was run, run, and run.

As he run he whispered into the wind. "I am so sorry", but he didn't know who he was apologising to.


	6. Chapter 6

Baby Girl Chapter 5

OMG. So many reviews! To Thyra-Tigerlily you were right, I should specify location, description, POV so I shall remedy that in this Chappie. Thanks for the review. Also thanks to BeeBee Forthwright, LOVEerz, and Tokka Shipper for all your encouraging reviews. Here it is. Chapter 5 Dramatic Music.

Zuko POV

Zuko hadn't really thought about anything around him lately. Nothing had colour. Everything was non- descript. He assumed it was a pregnancy thing. He could barely remember the faces at the orphanage/ abandoned child shelter. He even now couldn't describe what Iroh's house looked like, not even Lu Tens clothes. They could have been made of rags, they could have been silk, with gold thread. All he seemed to do nowadays was feel. Feel scared, angry, and cold. Very cold.

He finally stopped, and stood still. He looked around him, he couldn't see Iroh anymore- nor could he see anything familiar. There was the usual. Trees, people looking at him badly, double storey suburban houses that all looked the same.

Then he saw a cop. He went up to the cop to ask directions back to Iroh's house. He had always known that he was stupid, but running from the only person that could help you was stupider than usual.

"_Too rash, Zuzu. Yet again you let your own stupid feelings control you." Azula whispered. "I'd have done the right thing by now." She sneered, _her voice freezing the blood in his body.

He knew what he had to do to fix everything. In that moment of clarity. He straightened his spine and walked towards the police man with more confidence

The cop looked at him. He saw the blue tint in his sunglasses, he saw the navy in his uniform. Suddenly it was as if he had changed his television from a grainy black and white 1940's box set, to an LED HD Sony widescreen tv in 1 second flat.

"How do I get to the estate barrier?" Zuko asked the cop with a smile, noticing the pink line that showed where the cop had cut himself shaving this morning.

"Do you see those pink flamingos, next to the lawn mower?"

"Yes." Zuko said, wondering how he hadn't noticed them before.

"Turn right at that bend and follow the road. It will take you straight to the barrier." The cop said with a smile. Zuko could smell the pork bacon in his breath and felt nauseated..

"Thank you."

Zuko started to walk down the road. He knew exactly what he would do.

-break

It was rancid, and rotting. The beams were falling down and there was mould on the wall. The old paint was flaking off the plaster, and there were various insects crawling on the wall and across the floor.

"They all end up at Mama Duchess'" The woman said with a joint in her mouth. Her skin was a pale and sickly yellow. Her eyes were brown but hooded. Her hair was a dirty mouse brown under the platinum blonde wig on her head. Her teeth were yellow, and her lips were red from the seven or eight layers of lipstick she wore. She looked like a crack-whore. He was currently inside the crumbling storage unit alone with her. There was a rickety metal backed and based chair and some rusted iron spreaders.

"Take it all off," He looked at her uneasily as she said that. She laughed at him. "You already got naked for a man. Why are you shy around me."

He glared at her before removing his pants and boxers, but he kept his shirt on. He then sat on the chair.

So COLD.

"Go on, Spread 'em" She said with a mirthless laugh. She was finally getting her high. She wouldn't remember in a few hours. So he did.

She took her tools, placed them in a dirty purple plastic basin and poured Jagermeister on them. As the Jagermeister run some of the ash from the joint fell in. She then laughed, and some of her spittle entered the basin along with the ash, pre-existing dust, mould and- was that blood.

I don't want this. This wasn't good.

"_Oh Zuzu, this isn't good, it's necessary and better than having that beasts child," Azulas voice whispered in his head._

He closed his eyes. If he couldn't see, he couldn't acknowledge. It is necessary. It is- PAINFUL. She carved into him, spreading him wider than he had ever been spread. A tear escaped his right eye.

Mama Duchess laughed at him whilst looking between his spread and sore ass cheeks. She shoved something inside him and begun to open it. He bit his lip to keep from crying out.

Throughout the procedure all he could think that it was necessary. Necessary. Even with the pain. Necessary. Even with the mirthless laughter. Necessary. Even with the blood.

Then everything that had she had forced into him was removed.

He breathed a small sigh of relief but he made no bid to move. He remained perfectly still on the chair, hoping she thought that he was asleep. As if he could have fallen asleep with that pain.

But she didn't care. She took the money and walked towards the exit of the storage unit laughing.

"ALL THE WHORES COME TO ME IN THE END!" She said to him. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her voice was hoarse. Some of the birds roosting in the rafters flew off "ALL WHORES RUN TO MAMA DUCHESS IN THE END." Her crazed and malicious laughter was all Zuko could take.

"SHUT UP!" Zuko scram. The remaining 2 pigeons left. Now it was him, her and a crow.

"I AM NOT A WHORE." The second he said it he realised how stupid he sounded. Here was a woman that made her money of schmucks like him that had nowhere else to go except this shitty warehouse.

She walked back to him slowly. "Well then you must be some sort of cock hungry bastard to get knocked up. If you weren't a whore for money, you were a whore for kicks." Zuko looked away from her old pale and pinched face. "Either way you're a whore."

Zuko stared intently at the ground. "Say it" She whispered in his ears.

Zuko kept his mouth shut and focused in the rats that he could see through the floor boards. Running around searching for…. For what? Food? A lost item, maybe relative.

"Say that you're a whore and this entire afternoon is free." Zuko worried his already bloodied and damaged lower lip. 400 dollars for an abortion wasn't a lot but he needed food. A place to stay. He needed every cent he had.

"SAY IT!" She yelled enraged

"I'm a whore." He whispered.

"Louder"

"I'M A WHORE!"

He felt her push something into his sweaty palms as she cackled cruelly.

He waited for her laughter to fade before he even thought about moving. His body was sore. He couldn't move. But he had to. He stood up. And promptly fell over. Into his blood. And his baby's blood. Zuko lay on that floor all night hating himself more and more for what he had done until finally he cried out loud. He sobbed out loud for hours until he couldn't breath. Finally, around sunrise, he fell asleep, in the dried blood.

The crow that had been there the entire time hopped to Zuko once Zuko was asleep and started picking on his open wounds. The wounds on his back that had started to scab over from the last time his father had beaten him four days ago. Even the flesh around his ass hole that now was torn and openly bleeding.

Then he took flight.

"Hey" A girl whispered. Her voice was hoarse and sounded very masculine.

"Wake up!" She shook his shoulder.

A boy next to her gave her a look. She understood and called out.

"JET!"

TAD DA! Jet finally appears for all those who asked for him. But I feel like making this a Zukka Story, because let's face it Zuko and Jet's personalities in this fic might end up not being compatible.

Review and let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay, I shall try a little harder, but I have a very serious writers block. Thanks for all the reviews and as the review poll stands 3-Jetko, 2-Zukka, so for now Jetko it is. Here is the long delayed chapter. P.S for LOVEerz Zuko went for an abortion in the last chapter. Thank you LOVEerz, tokkashipper, iHeartyaoi3, A Slash Fangirl, S.K.Y cyrus, GaaraLover1298, Guest and Evangelion-Wings for the reviews and thanks Evangelion-Wings for making me wake up and write a new chapter.

Chapter 6

He was very pale and also very bloody, Jet just hoped that he wasn't dead yet however with all the blood on the floor it was highly likely that he was.

"We should take him to a hospital" Bethany said in her horse voice. Luke nods.

"Yeah, but who is he and how do we explain what drew us here." Jet asks

Bethany shrugged, "Maybe we should call Sokka he is the "plan guy"".

Jet laughed before Luke gave him a very severe look and finally he says. "Okay since I don't have an explanation Sokka it is."

"Why are you calling Jet, we broke up remember." Katarin's voice said her annoyance came through the phone.

"Cool your temper Kat I need to talk to that idiotic brother of yours." Jet responded with a smirk on his face. Luke gave him another look.

"FINE!" Kat said with the annoyance obvious in her voice. A few moments later Sokka was on the line.

"What do you want Jet." Sokka's pissed off voice came out from the phone.

"What is that abusive uncle of yours home?" Jet asked with a chuckle.

"I'll kill you." Sokka's voice whispered through the phone.

"As if you could hurt me. That sister of yours has a better chance of beating than you will ever have.' Jet sneered.

"Focus Jet," Bethany said while Luke's stony stare became a bit more reproachful.

"Oh right the reason I called," Jet said. "I need your planning brain."

"Fuck you Jet." Sokka said.

"Wait!" Jet yelled down the phone slightly panicked "I think someone died but I don't know what to do?"

"Call the cops and accept jail time." Sokka's deadpan voice came through the line.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS, I didn't kill the guy!"

"Yeah sure, and my uncle is a saint" Sokka said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well he might be because I just found his body." Jet said.

"Give me the phone." Bethany said "Before he hangs up on you and calls the cops."

"Can he do that?"

"Yeah I can, I already have your location."

"Fucking Hacker."

"Not a hacker just tech smart." Sokka's voice came through the phone.

"Give me the phone." Bethany said.

"Fine" Jet said, handing the phone to Bethany.

"There's a guy just lying here in blood, he needs a hospital, we don't know him so how do we explain that to the hospital people." Bethany said very quickly.

"Give me his description and I can check missing persons." Sokka said quickly.

"Will a photo do?" Bethany asked

"Ha, does he even have a phone that can receive images?" Jet said in a cruelly.

"Jet!" Bethany exclaimed angry at him and Luke glared at him.

"You know what I'll call the cops and tell them that I heard you discussing a murder, Jet." Sokka said irritated.

"Forget Jet, he's an asshole I put up with because he's my brother, but I don't think the guy is dead yet so what do I do?" Bethany soothed.

"Fine, say you were looking for a secret show and found his body in the supposed location."

"And…?" Bethany asked.

"And what?" Sokka asked.

"Will that fly at the hospital?"

"Yes, he's unconscious so he can't say anything and because he's unconscious they can't refuse to treat him, plus, if he looks like a minor, he is essentially a ward of the state so they have to take care of him and they can't bill his medical costs as insurance covers it."

"Okay." Bethany said.

"So what now we call for an ambulance?" Jet asked.

"Yes and seem sad and confused about it." Sokka said through the line.

"Why?" Jet asked.

"You were out looking for a party and you found a possibly dead and bloodied body- it's only natural that you should be shocked or concerned by this." Sokka said before hanging up on Jet but not before Bethany yelled thanks down the line.

"Idiot." Jet said. "If I go to jail then I'm taking him down with me."

"He's a pro hacker, that can hack the police data base and leave no trace, and you think you can take him down?" Bethany asked with her eyebrow raised. Luke also raised an eyebrow before looking away from Jet towards the body.

"Don't forget that I can beat him in a fight."

"But he will always outsmart you. Or have you forgotten that he is a genius with an IQ of 160+"

"So what!" Jet said. "He's still a pussy."

"Yeah, a smart one that took on "The pirate" Liam and walked away with all his money in cash and left you with nothing."

"That money is mine." Jet hissed at Bethany.

"Hey, he thought up the plan alone, and carried it out by himself so it's his money and his fall if Liam ever catches him with it."

"Yeah, or I'll just sell him out to the cops and he'll spend some time in a jail cell with that loser father of his."

"Listen Jet he helped us out so whether you like it or not you owe him one."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Jet responded.

"Hello emergency, we need an ambulance, I think that someone is hurt badly." Bethany was already saying to the phone.

"Yeah it's um, the empty warehouse off the corner of Williamson and Ranger street."

Jet looked at Luke. Luke gave him a look. "Okay a little harsh on Sokka but, come on- the guy's a wimp."

Luke gave Jet another look before looking back at the body on the floor. The body shifted before it collapsed again.

"Jet did you just see that?" Bethany asked.

"Yep." Jet said with a wide grin "He ain't dead yet."

"Or he's waking up and the hospital will charge him and all that other shit Sokka was taking about being covered if he's unconscious." Bethany said starting to panic slightly.

"Relax he just stirred he isn't up to waking up yet." Jet said.

"Are you sure?" Bethany asked.

"Yep. Look at him." Jet and Bethany looked at him while Luke walked outside to find the ambulance.

Jet looked at the boy and saw how alike they were even if they had obvious differences.

"Hey, I'll take care of you." Jet whispered softly to the unconscious boy.

A/N: Again not sure of what pairing it should be and at this point in time it could be anything. For those that didn't guess:

Luke- Longshot

Bethany- Smellerbee

Katarin= Katara

(P.S -Any ideas for side pairings? *sheepish smile*)


	8. Chapter 8

So I had some free time… Ok I didn't want to work so I decided that I would write up the next chapter just for you. This will be very short, Sorry *sheepish smile* but my "boss" is watching me and I can't be seen as slacking, I'm already on report for being lazy- as you can tell I ain't going too far in life. Anyway here is Pre- Chapter Seven. (That was the original AN but now it is a full 1000 word plus chapter. PS I wasn't caught so I still have a job! YAY!)

Chapter Seven.

Luke looked at Jet. He was watching the unconscious boy. He often wondered why he stuck with Jet. He was an asshole at the best of times and at the worst he bordered on psychopathic. The little gang war Jet had started had been proof of that. The pirate gang had been on a rampage and for the longest time just leaving your house was as bad as a death penalty. Then Jet came along and challenged Liam. Obviously he lost but that was the spark that started a rebellion against Liams' tyrannous rule.

After that Jet took over the gangs and at first things were good, there was relative peace. Then Jet became just as bad as Liam, but whilst Liam had ruled with money, charisma and fear before, Jet ruled with fear, charisma and persuasion, recruiting people with a smile and a softly spoken promise, almost like a prayer whispered by a lover into your ears. Then before you knew it you too were part of Jet's gang. Then things went south, from the free feeling of not being under Liam's rule anymore, to the new terror that was Jet on a power high.

"All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Luke whispered

"What did you say?" Bethany asked him.

Luke looked at her then at her brother.

"Listen I know Jet can be a pain but he's changed now."

Luke looked away from her.

Jet was just as bad if not worse than Liam, he had no boundaries he was afraid of crossing, and no people he wasn't afraid of using. Like how he had used Katarina to get a foot hold in the elderly population, due to Kat being the nursing homes favourite volunteer, before terrorising them and making them pay for their own safety. Things got worse and worse. Crime escalated and Jet began to attack people at random because he could and nobody would say anything. He even decided that in order to further his campaign he would steal Liam's illegal BILLIONS and OWN everybody in the town.

However, his first mistake was the night he that he date raped Kat and then left her in the alleyway barely lucid and nearly naked. The next morning Kat had woken up in a brothel after being grabbed. Jet had saved her but not before she had been heavily drugged. She hadn't been raped yet but that had been Sokka's final straw. Sokka had always come up with the plans that Jet had followed. Sokka's plans had gotten Jet into his seat of power but after what had happened with his sister, a seed of anger and cynicism was planted in Sokka. The plan to steal Liam's money ended before it was realised. However Jet still wanted the money and went after it, but before he got there the money was all gone and Sokka had completely abandoned Jet. Sokka turning had shaken the community again and people began to desert Jet.

That was when Jet went truly crazy. He planned to blow up several buildings in the community with the remaining followers he had, starting with the free clinic then the school and finally the community center that housed all the homeless willing to swallow their pride, and also fed half the population of the town, as most kid's parents were too poor to afford food. He had even wanted to burn down the nunnery, the place where the children of jobless parent went to school at, but Sokka had intercepted him and challenged him. Sokka had lost the physical fight but had won the war. He had slowed Jet down. That was all he had needed to get everybody in the respective buildings out. All the critically injured staying overnight at the clinic, the homeless at the centre and the nuns out of the nunnery. When Jet gave the signal the buildings blew up, but no lives were lost. Sokka became a hero and Jet lost all his credibility.

Luke poked Bethany. She turned to him.

"You want to know about what I said about Sokka taking Liams' money don't you?"

He nodded slowly.

Bethany sighed and looked at Jet.

"Liam gave Sokka the money."

Luke looked at Bethany.

"Jet thought that Sokka stole it because that's what I told him." Bethany said looking at the paramedics that had arrived on the scene. The boy was carried out. The cops that had come with the ambulance were now talking to Jet. Luke listened closely to all the details in their conversation. Finally Jet smiled and they eased up. "Of course, Jet may have lost the war but he still has his charisma." Luke thought. At this point the ambulance had taken the boy and a paramedic asked if anyone had wanted to go with them in the ambulance.

"Hey, do you guys wanna ride on the ambulance?!"Jet yelled from the entrance of the warehouse.

Bethany shook her head along with Luke.

"Suit yourselves." He said with a wide grin. Then he got into the ambulance and the paramedics left them at the warehouse alone. Well, alone with the cops.

'Your friend said that you were looking for an underground party?" The cop asked.

"Yep." Bethany said.

"Who was playing."

"That wasn't specified on the invitation." Luke said.

"Where are your tickets?"

"Here." Bethany said holding out a ticket to an underground party that had happened last month but the cop didn't really look at the date just saw the words "PARTY!", "11:30 PM to 11:30 AM" "All night all day party." "Show ticket at entrance." Written all over the paper.

"Isn't it a bit early for a party?" The cop said.

"Not really, it's a 12 hour party to celebrate the closing of school. 'All night, all day.' And all." Bethany replied

"How did you know it was here?"

"We were told verbally, but either we misunderstood or it was a sham to make money." Bethany responded

"Why were you the only ones here?"

"Well as you said, early for a party but our parents are crazy and said we couldn't leave the house until daylight, what with the amount of gang violence recently."

"Yeah, what with the psycho that bombed those four buildings last month still at large." The cop said with a nod. "Okay, just stay safe alright?" The cop finally said before he left Bethany and Luke standing there.

"Come on," Bethany whispered into Luke's ear "Let's go to the Jasmine Dragon, I don't feel like being here anymore."

Luke looked at Bethany.

"I could tell the tale of Sokka's sad life here standing in blood, or I could tell you while we are seated drinking some of Irohs' specially brewed tea."

Luke finally nodded and they walked out into the sun towards the only café on this side of town.

A/N Okay so Pre chapter seven is a full chapter on its' own giving us a bit of background on Sokka and Jet. More on Bethany and Luke's past later. Plus, personal bonus to self for bringing in Jasmine Dragon. Hope you enjoyed reading this. I have the next chapter written but I won't post it until I get five reviews for this chapter. (Flames included in that count.)

TLAD.

(P.S I still need side pairing if you could be so kind as to give me ideas on them.)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Here is the promised chapter 8

Chapter 8

Iroh looked at the unconscious Zuko and thought about what he was going to do with the boy. Again he needed help but now he knew that he couldn't push the boy.

"Hey gramps, who are you here to see?" A brown haired youth asked him. The boy was tall, about as tall as Zuko, had very tan skin and very well shaped eyebrows.

Iroh put on his best sage old-man smile and said simply, "Him, unconscious in the bed."

"No shitting, I came here to see him too." The boy responded with a shit-eating grin. "James but most of my friends call me Jet."

"Pleasure to meet you, James. How do you know Zuko?" Iroh asked with a tone of mild curiosity but he really wanted to know.

"Zuko?" The boy asked as his perfectly arched eyebrows went up nearly into his hair line. "Oh, the unconscious boy?" He asked for confirmation.

"Yes." Iroh said wondering how the boy didn't even know his name.

"I met him when he was unconscious." Jet said with a smile. "He was in a pool of blood." Jet then shrugged "If we hadn't gotten there who knows what would have happened to him-"

"We?" Iroh asked interrupting the boy.

"Yeah. Me and my friends. They'll be here shortly." Jet said with a smile before turning back to Zuko.

Iroh looked at the boy seizing him up. He had an easy charisma to him but also some kind of spite or anger in him. He didn't know whether to like him or be wary of him. He decided that he would like him first then judge him when he knew the boy better. They stood in silence and watched the rise and fall of Zuko's chest.

"HEY JET!" A hoarse sounding voice yelled before running up to James. Then he saw a short girl, with a round and cute face set in deep bangs and shoulder length black hair. All in all she was pretty. "How is he?" She asked with real concern in her voice and Iroh decided that he liked her.

"He's fine. And his name is Zuko." Jet responded with a smile.

"How did you know his name, did they run a facial recognition check on him or something?" She asked.

"Nope." Jet said shortly before turning away and smirking to himself.

She punched him in his arm. "OW!" Jet exclaimed.

"TELL ME." She didn't yell it she just pitched her voice lower. It almost sounded like a feral growl. He really liked this girl, she made him smile.

"Fine he told me." James conceded.

"Oh, hi Iroh." She said with a smile.

"Hi Bethany." He responded with a very wide smile.

"Wait how do you know each other?" James asked with eyes wide open.

"You're stupid." Was all that Bethany said.

"What?" James asked offended and seemed like he was about to go into a tirade when Bad Reputation by Joan Jett started to play. She held a finger up and answered the phone. "Hi Sokka."

Iroh then went back to looking at Zuko breathe. As he watched he listened to one side of the conversation between Bethany and Sokka

"… The boy is fine…. His name is Zuko… yeah Iroh's rexxie student…. Okay fine I'll tell him."

"What did that loser want from me?" James asked with bitterness in his voice.

"He didn't want to tell you anything."Bethany said simply while watching Jet deflate at being so coolly ignored. "He wanted to ask Iroh whether he could go to the tea shop and play a chess game against him."

"Of course he can," Iroh boomed, "he is a master strategist it is always fun to play him. He keeps things interesting, never plays the same move twice if he can help it."

"Mum…." A weak voice asked.

"Zuko." Iroh breathed out, before rushing to him "Are you alright?" Then Iroh realised that Zuko was under heavy morphine due to his injuries and wasn't quite coherent yet.

"Shouldn't have," Zuko murmured "I didn't want to…."

"Want to what Zuko?" James asked.

"No… necessary." Then Zuko stirred slightly before rolling over and settling down again.

"What was that about?" James asked looking at him.

Iroh gave him a bright smile before shrugging and responding with a "I dunno." He then turned to Bethany and asked her "Rexxie?"

Bethany then looked away with a bashful blush "Sorry it means someone with an eating disorder, usually anorexia but then it also can apply to bulimics."

"Huh." Iroh said shortly while stroking his beard. "Well, that would be Zuko so I suppose it's not so bad. Is it some form of insult, like calling a gay person a homo?"

"Yes and no." Bethany responded. "Right now I just wanted an abbreviation of the word because of the situation-"

"Sokka's really broke, I bet he couldn't even afford the conversation, he probably stole some ones phone and had to call you in a rush."

Iroh raised his eyebrow at this while Bethany sighed and asked him "Are you _quite_ done now?"

"Yep." James said with an easy smile. "I think I'm done."

"Good." Bethany said with a glare. "Anyway Sokka just wanted to be filled in and I was too lazy to say the full word."

'Oh," Iroh said with a smile "Okay."

A nurse walked into the room and began to fiddle with the machines, changed the bedpan and changed his IV drip.

"You can now enter, Iroh." She said with a smile.

"Thank you Irene." Iroh responded. She walked away and he was about to enter the room when-

"Wait," James asked perplexed "How do you know everybody?"

Iroh shrugged.

"No, seriously, how do you seem to know everybody." James asked. "How do you know Sokka, Bethany- everybody."

"I'll fill him in Iroh, go speak to Zuko." Bethany said like an angel of mercy, before turning back to James and asking him "Do you live in a hole?"

"What?" James asked her, "am I supposed to know who he is?"

He then closed the door behind him.

"Hello Zuko." He said to the unconscious boy. "Why were you sorry and what was necessary?" He asked him knowing full well that he wouldn't respond. "What's going on with you Zuko?" Iroh asked concerned.

He sat watching the boy whilst stroking his beard. "What were you thinking?" Iroh asked the unconscious boy before letting him be.

A/N: Asking for five reviews was unfair I'll just do as I did before and post when I write up a new chapter.

Peace out peeps. ;- )

P.S Chapter 9 will be up by this Sunday.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Here is an intro into one of the side pairings and their song is Kaskade's How Long with Inpetto.

Chapter 9

Bethany came to the down town tea shop frequently. But she always came alone when she needed to think and she knew that nobody she knew would go looking there for her. Her mother was off on another naval base and had left her in the care of her aunt. As proud as she was of her mother she was often full of anger at being abandoned. She knew that her country was important- WAY more important than her but she tired of always being second fiddle. Jet seemed to handle it well, but she couldn't deal with it. She just wanted to lash out, to break something, to-

"UGH!" She exclaimed at no one in particular.

"I'm sure that the tea cup didn't do anything to you." A voice said behind her. She turned around and saw an old man.

"Yeah, well, it was the closest thing to me," she replied curtly.

The old man gave a soft belly laugh that had her cracking a smile.

"What's your name anyway?" She asked him.

"Iroh." He said with a simple smile.

"Bethany." She said, "But most people just call me Bee."

"B? The initial for your name?" He asked quizzically.

"No," She said sarcastically. "B for Bad A** B*tch."

"That would essentially be BAB." Iroh said whilst laughing.

"Yeah, I guess that you're right." Bethany said after reflecting on it.

"Sit down if you want to." Bethany said.

"Thank you." Iroh responded before sitting down."It's been a while since I've been in the company of a beautiful young woman."

Bethany laughed. "You think I'm beautiful?" She chuckled "Then you must be blind as well as old."

"Hey!" Iroh said with a tone affront "I am young at heart." Before saying "And I'm only in my 50's"as an afterthought.

"Hey I'm just saying, not many people tell me that I am a beautiful young woman,"

"Then what do the other people say?" Iroh asked looking interested.

"Most people used to tell me that I looked like a boy, then I hit puberty and from "boy"" She said using air quotes on the word "boy". "I became sexy." She said before she leaned back into her chair.

"Well can't you be both?" Iroh asked.

"Yeah," Bethany said with some contemplation "A sexy, beautiful young woman."

Bethany then looked across at Iroh from under her- eye lashes. "Do you think I am sexy?"

Iroh looked at Bethany, pushed the thought of his dead wife away and answered honestly, "One of the sexiest women I have ever met."

"Sokka." A voice above him said. "Sokka!"

"WHAT!" Sokka responded angrily.

"I needed your tech help to run a scam on those posh preppy kids at the Nation High."

"What the hell Jet?" Sokka asked him.

"I. Want. To. Pull. A. Scam. On-"

"The kids at Nation High," Sokka interrupted. "Yeah I got that but why?"

"I need the money."

"THE MONEY?"

"Hey, I have a plan and you said you were in on the plan so come on!" Jet said hurriedly.

"What plan?" Sokka asked.

"My plan to help save down town." Jet said impatiently.

"But down town is saved now that Liam is out so what are you still doing?" Sokka asked.

"No," Jet said with an easy smile, "That was the start of the plan."

"The start," Sokka then shook his head before looking at Jet again "What do you mean the start?"

"Now that Liam is out we can help improve down town." Jet said giving Sokka his winning smile, "And for that we will need money."

"Improve?" Sokka said still very dubious. Jet looked at Sokka very impressed because not many people are dubious of him after he flashes that smile. Sokka was smarter than the average person, so it would take more than a few words and a well placed smile to get him to do what he wanted.

"Liam had a lot of cash right?" Jet told Sokka. "That was how he bought the police, the governor and all the Judges in this town."

"Yeah," Sokka said, "But he's in jail now so that money wasn't really that helpful."

"A country club prison," Jet said, "All the women he wants, freedom to do what he wants in the prison, living better than the rest of us outside."

"So..?"

"Come on Sokka," Jet said exasperatedly "He gets a bottle of Cristal Champagne (tm) whenever he wants, he has cable T.V and internet as long as they monitor his e-mails."

"So you want that?" Sokka asked confused.

"I want that for everybody down town." Jet said with a smile.

"All the women we want and a bottle of Cristal whenever we want it?" Sokka asked, "SWEET!"

"NO!" Jet said angrily.

"I get it." Sokka said. "A better life style than the ones we currently have."

"So are you in?" Jet asked Sokka.

"Hell yeah!" Sokka said with an easy smile.

Sokka woke up wondering why that memory was suddenly popped up in his head.

"The scam!" Sokka whispered to no one in particular. He then looked at the wall parallel to the wall that his bed was against, there was a desk strewn with books, notepads and other random sheets of paper- as well as his old laptop.

He went to his laptop started it and begun to work his magic until he was able to draw up the relevant folder.

"His name is Zuko…." Sokka whispered as he typed.

"Zuko….." Sokka said one last time before the folder he was looking for was found. He opened it and found the thing he was looking for.

After sitting there for 1 hour running through the file he closed his laptop and sighed. "I guess I should go and apologise to him." Sokka said to no one in particular. "Hi life was already crap, he didn't need any stress from me or Jet."

"Sokka….?" Kat murmured from the door, "Why are you awake at this hour?"

"No reason." Sokka said quickly and slightly bashfully, "Go back to sleep."

Kat looked at her older brother. He never woke up before 8:30 am on school days to get to school at 9:00 and yet here he was awake at 4:30 in the morning and looked like he had been awake from a while.

"Sokka," Kat said slowly "You know you can talk to me right?"

Sokka looked at his sister noticing that she was entering the state that he called the "Mother-Hen" Mode.

"Yeah, I know that." Sokka said, before yawning loudly and in an exaggerated manner before looking at his sister "Well I'm going back to bed." He said before turning away from her.

"Sokka…" Kat said pleadingly.

"Just let it go Kat." Sokka said softly.

When Sokka used a soft tone of voice she knew that whatever he said wasn't up for debate. It also meant leave- me- alone- to- find- my- own- solution- to- the- problem. It was the same tone he had used a few times in the past- usually before something significant happened, including the night before all those bombs had gone off.

Sokka had entered his bed that was just under the window and across from the door in his room, and faced towards the window, his back to her. Kat looked sadly at her brother before closing the door because she had not even entered his room, but before she could fully shut the door she fainted.

"Kat?" Sokka questioned his sister before turning around and looking at her. She was on the floor in a dead-faint.

"Kat!" Sokka exclaimed before throwing off his duvet and blankets and rushing to her side. He then laid her out on her back and elevated her feet by putting them on his lap.

He debated calling an ambulance before realising that it would draw attention to them and that was the last thing that they needed.

"Come on Kat." He silently said. "Kat wake up."

A/N: I adapted Smellerbee and mashed her into Jun. I saw a picture of 17 year old Smellerbee on deviant art, and then thought of Jun and put them together and BAM! Bethany was born. Hope you like the chappie, but I might not post for a few weeks as I have no idea where the story is going. Any issues don't be afraid to review/PM me.


	11. Chapter 11

We meet Aang. Sorry if the info is a little sketchy don't know anyobody that….wait! You'll find out soon enough *evil, sneaky, smile*.

Chapter 10.

Zuko woke up in a strange room. He looked around for some time trying to remember what happened and why he was here. He stared at the ceiling for sometime before he remembered.

"_I'M A WHORE!"_

He closed his eyes. He needed a second.

"Hello!?" Said a small voice by the door.

Zuko opened his eyes and saw a small boy standing by the door.

"What?" He asked harshly.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to bother you I just felt like you needed some company now that all your friends have gone."

"What friends?" Zuko asked the boy while his eyes squinted.

"Why are you here?" The boy asked Zuko.

"WHAT FRIENDS?" Zuko yelled before realising that the boy probably didn't know Azula or any of his old "friends". Also the boy looked like he was about to cry with squinty and watery eyes.

"What did you want?" Zuko asked the boy. The boy then forgot about his harshness and begun to speak the fastest stream of words that Zuko had ever heard.

"What?"

"Oh sorry." The boy said sheepishly. "I wanted to know what your name was and why you were here."

"My name is Zuko." Zuko then kept quiet.

"And why are you here?" the boy asked the biggest eyes Zuko had ever seen.

"What is your name?" Zuko then asked instead.

"Oh!" The boy exclaimed "Didn't I tell you?"

"No." Zuko said.

"Oh, no? Then I'll be gone." The boy said before whizzing off.

"What just happened?" he asked the air.

The next time he saw the small boy was after he had had his afternoon nap, courtesy of the medication they were keeping him on, they relieved the pain but also made him drowsy. More sleep means that there were more dreams., more nightmares.

"Run Zuko, Run Zuko! Don't stop. Keep going. Keep going…." The voice slowly faded away whispering "Run Zuko", and left him a corridor of portraits. He didn't recognise anyone, yet he knew he should for they all felt so familiar.

He remembered the voice, "RUN!" It yelled in his mind again. He started to run down the corridor.

"RUN!"

He kept running, but where to? Where was he going?

"RUN!" The urgency in the voice had increased, like it was scared.

He then felt a presence against his back and he sprinted down the corridor towards a large looming door he hadn't seen before.

"Stop." A different voice whispered. A weaker voice. "Just stop."

He kept running, the door had all the answers.

"Stop.' The same voice whispered again.

The door turned into a fish. The same soul sucking fish from his previous dreams. It slowly opened his eyes and looked at him. It had his mothers' eyes.

"Mum?" He asked the dream fish.

"Mum, I'm sorry." He started to weep.

"I'm sorry mum." He whispered the fish head. To the fish's eyes. "I didn't want it mum."

The fish closed its eyes and opened its mouth.

"Mum?" Zuko asked the fish.

The fish then ate him.

He woke in a cold sweat to find that somebody was watching him.

It was the small boy from before.

"Hi." He said with a small smile.

"Hi." Zuko mimicked.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked.

"Yeah." He lied as easily as he had lied before.

"Okay." The boy said. "I just wanted to tell you that some of your friends and uncle Iroh are back."

"Why do you call them my friends?" Zuko asked the boy.

"Because, they always visit you." The boy said simply.

"Then why have I never seen them?" He challenged the boy angrily. He felt like a fight.

"Because you've only been awake for less than 24hrs." The boy replied. "The first time you woke up it was well after visiting hours." The boy then looked puzzled. "Didn't you notice?"

"No." Zuko said simply.

"Oh?" The boy responded. "Okay." He said with a beaming smile before he left.

"Wait!" Zuko yelled. The boy stopped.

"Why did you call Iroh your uncle?"

"Because that's what he is?"

"You're genetically related t Iroh?" Zuko asked shocked.

"No." The boy responded before leaving.

"What just happened?" Zuko asked the air.

"I believe that you just met Aang." A voice near the door said.

He turned to look at a nurse by the door. In so many porno's nurses were Victoria Secret models. In many Hollywood movies they were fat. She was neither. She was tall and pretty with soft wrinkles around her face. Her black hair was tied back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing a simple soft pink scrubs with white trainers.

"Aang?" Zuko asked. "What kind of name is Aang?"

"It's the name he calls himself."

"What?"

"He calls himself Aang." The nurse said with a smile.

"If I said I called myself Lucas, would you call me Lucas?" Zuko asked the nurse.

"No." She responded quickly with a no nonsense edge to the statement despite her open smile and kind eyes.

"Why not?" Zuko asked the nurse angrily, while noticing that the nurses' name tag said that her name was Mary.

"Because," said Mary as she stood right beside his bed, fiddled with some dials and checked something on the EKG currently scanning him, before nodding and writing something into the chart that the doctor would read later.

"Because…" Zuko prompted.

"You don't call yourself Lucas" She said with a simple smile before leaving him pondering the boy Aang and the hospital staff.

Not a few moments after the nurse Mary had left, Iroh was standing at the door. He smiled. "You look better."

Zuko wanted to yell at him but instead bit his lip. "Are you here to visit me alone, or are there other people with you?" Zuko asked Iroh tentatively.

"It's only me Zuko," Iroh said softly, "No one else. I sent them away because I thought that you would be vulnerable."

"Do they know what happened to me?"

"Who?" Iroh said.

"Everyone!" Zuko exclaimed.

"No one but your physician and I know what happened to you, and he has sworn not to tell anyone."

Zuko looked at the starchy but somehow soft hospital bed sheets. It triggered a distant memory of his mom in hospital. His fingers wrapped in her hands as she held him close and sheets wrapped around them both as she told him his bed time story before visiting hours ended and he had needed to go home. Then she had gotten better. The next few years were mixed adventures and a series of highs and lows that those months his mother had been in hospital had begun to feel like a dream and then had faded from his memory completely. He clutched the sheets gently. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he just wanted some relief.

"Zuko," Iroh said softly "I do not and cannot judge you for what you did."

"I'm a freak." He whispered softly.

"No your not." Iroh said "For thousands of years the male gender of the human species have been able to get pregnant and have children. Some scientists claim it came about when a massive virus killed off so much of the human population that in order to survive as a human race the men needed to be able to reproduce as well as women. Nowadays its quite a common happenstance."

"That's not it."Zuko said. "Just forget it."

Iroh looked at Zuko who had just turned away from him.

"One day Zuko, we will have t talk about this. But for now get some rest."

Iroh turned to go.

"Iroh wait." Zuko suddenly remembered. "Do you know someone called Aang."

Iroh looked at him and smiled. "Very many people know Aang." Iroh stroked his beard and asked, "When did you see him?"

"Today, before you arrived."

"Okay." Iroh said. "Get well soon Zuko." Then he turned and left.

"Who is Aang?" Zuko asked himself.

A.N: So here's a new chapter. The next one will be uploaded soon, until then enjoy this chapter and please review.

TLAD ;-)

P.S Dani, OwlNinja, Silver wolf, Lovely Girl Iroh, JetMarino are the official muses for this chapter as well as the reason I was able to write one and a half chapters in one day so the prize for you guys is two chapters posted about 3-4 days apart max. Thanks for giving a kick up the ass ;-) TLAD


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Thanks to OwlNinja for the review, here is the chapter you were on alert for.

Chapter 11

Jet was on the back porch of his house smoking as was his habit when he was pissed off. Bethany was out and Luke had a gathering of some sort at his house.

"Smoking again?" A feminine voice asked him.

Jet whipped his head around while simultaneously throwing his cig to the ground and stamping it out.

"Mom?! I thought that you and dad were out at that "Save the Rhino's" thingy." Jet stuttered

"Well…" She said with a smile "We got back early."

Jet looked out over his back yard; there was a small pool and quite a good bit of well maintained garden and perfectly manicured lawn. He lived in a nice suburb with his parents and Bethany.

"So….." His mom looked up at him.

"What?" he asked his mother.

"Smoking." His mom said.

"Just a little bit." He said with a slightly sheepish smile.

"Don't let your dad catch you." Was all she said before re-entering the house.

Jet smiled "Yeah mom."

Jet then resumed looking up at the stars. "Dammit!" He whispered to no one. He hated himself from the bottom of his heart. He had no reason to complain or hate his life yet he had to go play hero and go insane due to a power trip. …_"Forget Jet, he's an asshole I put up with because he's my brother_,"….. Now that he had been exposed for who he had been at the time, no one trusted him, or even talked to him. He needed a new and healthy restart. He needed to get away.

"Are the 'rents back?" Bethany asked coming out of nowhere.

"Where were you?" Jet asked her.

"Nowhere" she said simply.

"Whatever." Jet responded.

There was a disconnect between them recently and that's what hurt the most. She was his twin, if she couldn't trust him, then who else should?

"Beth?" He asked in a soft tone using a nickname for her he hadn't used in months. She stopped and looked at him.

"Yeah?" She said looking at him in the eye for the first time that weekend.

"Do you hate me..." Jet asked nervous. Beth took a breath "Or do you think that I am a monster, or that I'm some kind of-"

"Jet," Bethany soothed, "I don't hate you, nor do I think that you're a monster."

"But lately," Jet sighed, "You've been so distant." Bethany looked at her twin. "Then there was what you said to Sokka about only putting up with me because I'm your brother."

"Jet, that was the truth." Bethany said sincerely.

"WHAT!" Jet exploded "So you do think that I'm a monster.." Jet was near hysterical now all his façade of cool confidence and calm demeanor gone.

"Jet, listen to me." Bethany said swiftly cutting into his rant. Jet looked at her. "I'm your sister I'm supposed to put up with you."

"Huh?" Jet asked his face displaying no emotion.

"Jet, you're an idiot." Bethany said simply. "Not only are you an idiot, you're a charismatic, slightly sadistic and arrogant idiot at that."

"Wha-"

"I'm not done." Bethany said sharply. She looked Jet in the eye. "What you planned to do a couple months back was an unnecessary extreme."

Jet looked down. "At the time you had two choices 1) Apologize for what you did and take responsibility for your own actions. Or 2) Take the cowards way out and blame everyone else but yourself for what happened, taking no responsibility for what you did." Jet looked at her. "Tell me what option you chose."

"Option 2." Jet mumbled. "But-"

"What does that make you?" Bethany asked cutting in before he could make any excuses.

"A coward." Jet mumbled, "BUT-"

"Jet," Bethany said looking at her brothers' face, "Do you regret what you did these last couple months?"

"Yeah." Jet said.

"Then the best way to move on is to take responsibility." Bethany concluded.

"And go to JAIL!" Jet exploded. "NO WAY! Now I get it, you really want me in jail away from you. YOU THINK I'M A MONSTER."

"Jet." Bethany said. "Calm down, I don't want you in jail." She looked out at the garden and beyond to the twinkling lights of the city. She took in a deep breath then spotted the cigarette stub on the wooden porch floor. She turned back to Jet.

"Take responsibility in the down town area, maybe go and do some community service, donate money to the church, help rebuild some of the damage you caused." Bethany exhaled. "Try heal some of the wounds you caused, and maybe you won't see yourself as a monster, because believe it or not, I know and believe that you are not a monster." With those parting words Bethany left Jet to his thoughts.

Jet thought long and hard about it. He had started in the down town area as a white knight, and now no one could look him in the eye when he went down there. They hated him.

"I'd much rather go to jail." Jet whispered to the wisteria plant growing on the porch.

Sokka touched Katarina's head with a wet cloth whilst keeping her feet elevated. "Come on Kat." He pleaded. "Wake up."

Sokka sat for half an hour massaging Katarina's feet before she finally woke up. She blinked slightly before grabbing her head. "Ow." She said softly.

"Hey." Sokka said. She looked at him until he came into focus. They were still in Sokkas' room but now she was on his bed with her feet on his lap. The lights were on but the computer was off.

"What happened?" She asked her brother confused as to what had happened.

"You fainted."

"What?" She asked with a frown on her face. "Why would I faint?"

"That's what I would like to know." Sokka asked her.

"It's probably nothing." Kat said, "People faint for a lot of reasons and the way my head is aching I probably had a migraine that made me faint."

"You didn't seem to have one when we were talking."

"I had a headache so I woke up to get some medicine and water, when I saw that you were awake."

"Oh." Sokka said plainly.

"I think I'll go back to bed." Kat said.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to the clinic." Sokka told her.

"I don't need a clinic." Kat said quickly.

"You have a head ache that became a migraine that made you faint." Sokka stated simply while counting each individual transgression off with his fingers. "You need a clinic." He concluded.

"Sokka please drop this." Kat pleaded to her brother.

"Okay." Sokka said easily. Kat squinted her eyes. Too easily.

"Sokka…." Kat looked at her brother, he was never one to let things drop so easily.

"What?" Sokka said with a simple shrug. "You asked me to drop it, I dropped it."

"Oookaaay." Kat said still suspicious but because she was tired, so she didn't push it.

As she walked towards her room, Sokka looked at the small vial of blood in his hands. He was debating taking it into the clinic for testing. On one hand Kat seemed like she was okay, on the other hand he was curious. "Well no one's ever called me a saint." He said to the air as he made a snap decision.

A/N: Slightly shorter, but still over 1000 words. I might upload a chapter in the next couple of days but it will be short a sort of pre-chapter 12. If anyone has any ideas then don't be shy tell me. If anyone has any critism's (constructive!) Tell me. My ears and pm box/ review box are wide open.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N First of all….. I LOOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR READING THIS FIC. Mad love goes to guest and guest and Bloody- red- scar for reviewing chapter 11/ pre chapter I just admit that my favorite character in A:TLA is Sokka. Okay, now that I've said that here is chapter 12.

Chapter 12

Sokka sometimes hated his brain. For whatever reason he seemed to exist on a separate plane to other people but what angered him the most was his inability to articulate what his brain was attempting to do. Up until the completion of his schemes, people tended to doubt him, and in fact some had just blatantly refused to listen to him, claiming that his plan would never work. It was on days like that that he wished he could trade his brain for Jets natural charisma.

However, just as he thought this he also remembered the people his plans had saved, despite all the doubt that usually came before the plan. He knew better than most people that there are too many variables to consider when making a plan and that was where his first few plans had failed. This plan also could fail but he had to know. There were many reasons for fainting spells but there were far fewer that had Kat refusing to go to the clinic for a checkup. It meant one of two things. Either one she was right and it was nothing or two she knew what it was.

Looking at the vial of blood he put it back into a hollow in his desk he built specifically to hide important things and also to keep things from his probation officer and her prying eyes. He knew that she knew something but he couldn't quite place what it was, so for now he hid the more important things from her whilst he researched what he knew about her. "Ugh." Sokka exhaled. He now had to simultaneously research his probie and also his sister. At least his sister will be slightly easier to research than his probie- only he had more info and info sources on his probie than his sister. "This might take a while." he said to no one in particular as he started up his trusty computer he fondly called Captain Boomerang, and started work on several simultaneous operations that he was using to track his probation officer. Once he had finished adding some more software to the program to prevent the software from being hacked remotely, he started working on the software that would track his sister using the various camera's in the city. When he had the program designed to monitor his sister up and running he then hacked the camera his probation officer had placed in his room and had it show that he was asleep in his bed and not actually doing anything important.

Bethany looked at her parents. Her mother had gotten back from ….. whatever she had been doing overseas for the navy and now claimed that she was done with the Navy. In fact, to prove this she was trying to make waffles. Jet was laughing like it was f*ing comedy central and her dad was smiling at them. Sometimes she felt like she had been adopted or was an alien because of how distant she felt from her family- well not actually her family, just her family whenever her mother finally popped into the picture. She sipped at her grapefruit juice when her phone's message tone went off. Her mother looked at her "I thought that we had agreed no phones at meals." She said with a sad and disapproving face. Bethany just took her juice and gulped it down. "Done with my meal, now can I go?" She asked her mother brusquely.

"Bethany!" Her dad exclaimed. She could tell by his face that he was begging her to make an effort. Jet had always been mothers but she was daddy's little girl through and through.

"Can I check my text?" She asked with a little less of an edge to her voice, "I'll be back to try the super- amazing waffles." She said more to her dad than her mother.

"Fine." Daddy said looking visibly pleased at the effort in her previous statement. She was on her way out of the kitchen breakfast bar when-

"Wait," Her mother said. "Are you okay?"

She wanted to be sarcastic and snarky but then remembered that she was trying to make an effort. "Yep. Just fine." She responded glancing at her mother over her shoulder.

"Okay." Her mother said. Bethany was happy for the easy escape. She had spent most of her pre-pubescent and pubescent years being taken care of by her aunt and dad simultaneously and now that her mother claimed that she was back for good she couldn't really imagine it. It had always been dad, Jet and her with Auntie Song popping in often to check up on them and leave them food. Auntie Song also made sure that they cleaned the house and split the chores evenly between the two of them- all dad had to o was pay bills and seeing how he was an accountant it happened to be his forte. She chuckled softly at the memory that had birthed an inside joke. She almost wanted to yell it down the stairs to spite her mother for not being there, but spite didn't come naturally to her so she kept quiet. She entered her room and checked her phone. It was a message from Iroh. She smiled.

She threw herself onto the bed that was against the back wall perfectly in between the white doors that lead to her wardrobe (that was a little empty as she didn't shop often) and the window and window seat. Her room was a pale shade of apple green, with brown accents provided by the base pillow of the window seat (there were other pillows on her window seat, their colours being blue, a muted shade of red, with some golden and others brown), her desk and her brown leather desk chair, as well as her duvet covers either being white, or brown or both. There were also bedside tables on either side of her wooden bed frame made of the same type of wood as the bed and they added to the brown accents in her room. These usually held her amber and her ceramic vases that were usually filled with flowers because, despite, how much of a tomboy she appeared to be she liked flowers and the natural vibrancy they brought into everything. This week the flowers were purple irises.

She read the text when she was finally comfy on her bed. "Want to have a cup of tea so delicious that I can guarantee that you will cry once you drink it?" The text read. She shot back "Yes, that sounds perfect." She wondered how a man that she had only known for about half a year knew her so well. She sat down on her bed and looked at the message thread. Cheesy jokes and random parables and proverbs littered their conversation. She sometimes felt like she honestly loved him. She was enjoying this stage in their relationship. The corny hand holding and the soft kisses in random places, the park, the tea shop and sometimes even in his house, however, unlike with other relationships, not to mention her first love, she never felt any pressure to go beyond the kiss. She knew that they were going slow because he said that this was his first serious relationship since his wife and he didn't want to rush anything. Quite frankly neither did she. She didn't want them to rush things and then for that to lead to the end of the relationship. She didn't want the relationship to end. God she was becoming such a sap.

A/N This is for Dani who wanted Iroh action. He will get some *excuse the pun* but when will be decided by my random muses and also when I find it appropriate. (Maybe in the next 2-4 chapters depending on which characters I focus on). Next chapter most likely Zuko centric seeing how I have been neglecting him and his development. I also just realized that this fic is becoming a monster. Ah damn. I think I might need a beta to whip my ass into shape and catch any plot holes- any volunteers? I'm joking- but seriously I am falling in love with this world and I foresee this spiraling out of control. I JUST WANTED ZUKO TO HAVE AN ASS BABY DAMMIT- WHEN DID IT BECOME THIS!? *Rips hair out of head* I promise I will update in a fortnight latest. I already have the vague outline of what is to come in the next chapter.


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